New York principal backs off threat to cancel prom over graduation rate

A New York high school principal was forced to back off her threat that the senior prom would be canceled unless every student was eligible to graduate, the New York Post reported.

Shadia Alvarez, principal of the Collegiate Institute for Math and Science in the Bronx, put a poster up at the school saying the senior prom was off unless every senior -- nearly 140 students -- graduates, MyFoxNY reported.

"It was a scare tactic basically for seniors to get their butts in gear," said Jose Abreu, a senior at the school.

According to the Post, Alvarez told the Department of Education that there was no such ultimatum, saying the school has high expectations and she only told students the prom would be canceled if they did not try.

The prom is not canceled, DOE said.

The school is on track to have a 90 percent graduation rate, higher than the city average of 66 percent, according to the Post.